The Sunshine Chronicles synthesizes the latest commentary, news, and innovations in the world of health, wellness, social consciousness and sustainability. It encourages personal accountability and awareness.

Monday, June 25, 2007

No More Plastic Water Bottles Ever! (in san francisco)

First plastic bags, now water bottles, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is on a mission to protect natural resources and leverage the impact that his already green consituency can make.

Gavin Newsom signed an executive order banning the use of city funds to purchase single-serving plastic water bottles. The order also prohibits the sale of such water containers on city-owned property. The move is part of a campaign by the city to boost the environmental awareness of its already-green citizens by getting them to use tap water instead of bottled water—and cut down on the acres of plastic generated in the process.

As an incentive to get San Francisco residents involved, people who sign an online pledge will get a stainless-steel recyclable container from the city for free. This is a bold statement against plastic bottle water suppliers. According to Newsom, "these people are making huge amounts of money selling God’s natural resources. Sorry, we’re not going to be part of it. Our water in San Francisco comes from the Hetch Hetchy [reservoir] and is some of the most pristine water on the planet. Our water is arguably cleaner than a vast majority of the bottled water sold as "pure."

I admit to only recently trying to break my plastic bottle habit with my new Sigg bottle. Ironically, I only use my Sigg bottle when I am in San Francisco (as I split time with Austin, Tx). It is not that Austin isn't green in its own right, however, I do feel a greater amount of responsbility/peer pressure when I am in San Francisco. Regardless, there is no doubt that San Francisco is a leader when it comes to making bold civic "green" statements, and this is just one more initiative that will continue to pave the way towards building sustainable communities. Check out the full article.